QLFC Season Five Entries
by emryses
Summary: A collection of one-shots written for Season Five of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition in the team of Puddlemere United as Captain, as well as some other challenges. Enjoy and R&R! (R3's 'The Proposal' is dedicated to the lovely lily, and R13's 'A Clear Head' is dedicated to the lovely amber!:3)
1. R1: The House Unity Project

**The House Unity Project **

**Captain's Task: Write your Keeper's NOTP (Drarry)**

 **For the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 1 for Puddlemere United.**

 **Word Count without A/N's: 2,782**

* * *

The Heads of House were once again gathered in the Headmaster's office because Dumbledore wanted to discuss something that he brought up _every single year._

"How are we doing with House Unity?" he asked, his eyes twinkling. He asked this question every year, and the teachers always joked about how there'd _never_ be House Unity at this school. However, with the Sorting Hat's recent message about how 'unity is the only way to go through these troubled times,' he thought that should change.

"House Unity? It's the week before a Gryffindor-Slytherin match. I have had to stop _five_ duels this week, and my Gryffindors keep guarding Potter," frowned Minerva McGonagall, "There is _no_ unity in this place."

"I can't imagine why my students would act as if the other three houses were all against them," Severus drawled, raising his chin and looking down his nose at the old wizard. "It couldn't possibly be the fact that there are certain rules that have been bent over the years to pamper your precious cubs."

Minerva scoffed, "Don't act like you are innocent as well, Severus. You do the same with your snakes."

This time Severus sat fully upright, turning to glare at his old teacher.

"Both Potter and Draco broke a rule laid down by a Professor; Draco served detention with me every single night for three months while Potter was placed on the Quidditch team. Potter and Weasley ran to fight a troll and were awarded ten points. Their first year here, my Slytherins worked hard to bring in the most points they could, fairly, to prove they weren't like their families and instead you awarded points for chess and took that away from them. Potter and Weasley snuck a dragon out of the school and went unpunished. Long bottom has been causing explosions in my class while Finnegan has been causing explosions in others. Brown and Patil spend their time giggling over boys or worrying about how they look. Thomas threw a football at a group of first years and caused one of them to break their ankle." Severus paused before leaning back on his seat.

"None of them have been punished, and that was just their first year here. Therefore, I have _every right_ to treat my Slytherins better than everyone else because all you _righteous teachers_ treat them unfairly."

"That doesn't give them any excuse to bully _my_ house!" McGonagall exclaimed, her nostrils flared, but Dumbledore raised his arms for quiet. "Filius and Pomona, how about your houses?"

"My Ravenclaws keep to themselves," admitted Flitwick. "They don't necessarily have enemies, but rarely are there inter-house friendships within Ravenclaw House."

"I'm proud to say that my Hufflepuffs are friends with practically every house, including Slytherins," said Sprout haughtily.

"I think we should do something to promote House Unity within the school," Dumbledore finally said. "It's time to take matters into our own hands."

"Oh, don't tell me you're wound up on the Sorting Hat's message," muttered Snape. "This won't be taken well by my House. Nor Minerva's."

"But _your_ Houses are the ones that need unity the most," pointed out Pomona. "Why not let it be this year that Gryffindors and Slytherins aren't at each other's throats? I have an idea: there's a project coming up for all my Herbology classes. Not one of those one-day things, but a long term plant growth project. I usually let the students pick their own partners for this, but this year I will pick them. Each student will be with one from a different House!"

"As long as you keep _me_ out of it, I don't care," muttered Snape, before stalking out of the office.

"I like Pomona's idea," said Dumbledore, "Long term projects oftentimes bring great friends of people. We don't have many here, and if we do, people pick who they're with. It's time for a change."

* * *

When Pomona Sprout announced to her sixth year N.E.W.T students about the 'House Unity' project, she was met with outrage.

"We might have to work with the _snakes!_ What if I'm paired with Parkinson?" Ron hissed to Harry in outrage.

"It could be worse," replied Harry.

 _"_ _How?"_

"What if _I'm_ paired with Parkinson?" asked Harry, causing Ron to elbow him hard.

"Or worse, Malfoy," Ron stage-whispered, "Hopefully, I get to work with a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff; I'm fine with them!"

"It's just one project," Hermione reminded them. "Maybe this so called 'House Unity project' won't even last for a long time." Just as she said that, Professor Sprout announced that the project would last three months, and would go on until the end of the year.

"Spoke too soon," muttered Ron.

"Think positive. Maybe we won't even _get_ Slytherins," sighed Hermione.

"We better not. Or I'm going to file a complaint," grumbled Ron.

"Maybe this _'_ _House Unity'_ is a good thing. The number of disappearances isn't getting any smaller. We _do_ need to work together—"

"No offense to what would be a great speech, Hermione. We just don't want Slytherins," said Harry bluntly.

"There will be no switching or complaining when I read out these names," said Professor Sprout, and the pairings she listed already gave the Golden Trio shudders.

 _"_ _Neville, our Neville_ paired with Greengrass the ice queen?" hissed Ron in outrage. "What is _wrong_ with her?"

She then announced that Hermione was to be paired with Padma Patil, and Hermione sighed with relief.

"Ron Weasley and Blaise Zabini," read Professor Sprout.

"Better than Malfoy or Parkinson," muttered Harry under his breath, and Ron nodded in half-relief.

She announced that Parvati Patil was going to be paired with Pansy Parkinson, causing the Trio to each give her words of comfort.

Professor Sprout read out more pairings, and most of them were completely surreal. Harry was spacing out before Ron said worriedly, "Mate, all that's left is you and Malfoy."

"Oh no," said Harry distractedly. "There _has_ to be someone else left."

"Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy."

Harry turned to Ron, "Can I just... _face Voldemort now?"_

* * *

Draco had way too much going on in his life right now to be partnered up with Potter for a stupid Herbology project.

The blasted Gryffindor had already taken to prying into business that wasn't his. Draco even suspected that Potter was sending a ruddy house-elf to spy on him. The Slytherin simply didn't have the time, nor the energy, to deal with Potter, the Dark Lord's request, and this bloody assignment.

"Sorry mate," said Blaise sympathetically.

"You're with the Weasel, that's apology enough," he said shortly in reply.

Blaise cringed. "Yeah, well…what can I do? I'm sure it won't be that bad. Who came up with this 'House Unity' thing anyways?"

"I'm telling you, Dumbledore's getting old," piped up Daphne Greengrass, sighing.

"What're you complaining about? Longbottom might be a klutz, but Herbology's the one thing he's actually good at. Just sit back and you'll get an easy O," shot back Blaise. "The Weasel's incompetent, meanwhile."

"I'm worse. I'm with _Potter._ The famous _Chosen One,"_ he drawled sarcastically.

"It's only one project, how bad can it be?" reasoned Blaise. "Just only talk to Potter about the project and everything should go smoothly."

"I know there will be complaints about these pairings, but remember that these pairings will in the long term be for your own good," said Professor Sprout in a tone of finality.

"How is being paired with people like _Potter, the Weasel,_ and _Longbottom_ going to be for our own good?" spat Daphne, who was irritated with this whole thing.

"It's not. All these Professors have gone bloody mental," huffed Draco.

"So now," said Professor Sprout. "I would like everyone to get with their project partners."

"You mean to our doom?" grumbled Blaise under his breath, before he walked over to the Weasel. He took dramatic steps as if he were going to a funeral.

"Stop being drama queens," snapped Theodore Nott. It was the first time today he'd spoken.

"Easy for _you_ to say! You're with Brocklehurst! At least she's decent and a Ravenclaw!" hissed Daphne, before stalking over to work with a completely terrified Longbottom. Draco would've felt bad for Longbottom since he knew how harsh Daphne can be, but first of all he hated Longbottom, and second he had to be with Potter so he pitied himself above everybody else.

He raised an eyebrow when he came face-to-face with Potter and sneered instantly.

"I'm about as happy with this as you are, Malfoy," said Potter shortly, sliding in the seat across from him. He and the Weasel were shooting each other glances of pity. He rolled his eyes, as if he and Blaise were happy about this crap.

Professor Sprout announced that the pairs would be growing Shrivelfigs, and that they had to write observations about the plants. She also announced that the pairs would have to be sharing ownership of the plant.

Blaise mouthed over to Draco about how he would rather die than trust Weasel with something that counts toward his final grade. Draco agreed, he had an Outstanding in the class and no idea what the stupid Scarhead had.

"Potter, if you're going to use this project as an opportunity to _stalk_ me as clearly you have _no life,_ then I'm here to say that it's not going to happen," he sneered over at him.

"Who said I'd ever want to stalk _no-good Death Eater scum_ like you?"

"Your house-elf," he said simply. He said it as a spur-of-the-moment guess, but relished the way Potter's face went pale. "Do tell me Potter, am I so _irresistible_ that you feel the need to stalk me with a _house-elf?"_

"I...um…let's just start thinking about the project, Malfoy," he stammered, looking at the blond with narrowed eyes.

"Indeed," smirked Draco.

* * *

"How's Zabini?" Harry asked Ron, his eyebrows raised.

"Rude and condescending," said Ron bluntly. "Who thought this would be a good idea? Though, I shouldn't be complaining. Poor Neville's scared of his partner, and Parvati's stuck with Parkinson. She's _not_ happy about it."

"Apparently Malfoy knew that I had Kreacher follow him around everywhere," said Harry nervously.

"Well, mate, you _have_ been a bit obsessed with the bloke," admitted Ron, leaning back in the armchair of the Gryffindor common room.

Harry's face turned scarlet, "I have _not!"_

"Hmm. You sent a house-elf to spy on him, and ever since the beginning of the year you had the 'Malfoy's a Death Eater theory' without any proof," pointed out Ron.

"There is _plenty_ of proof," countered Harry. "Like how he's in the Room of Requirement all the time…"

"Never thought I'd say this but I actually feel a bit bad for the bloke. Zabini, though…" Ron's voice held a threatening undercurrent.

"Feel _bad_ for the bloke?"

"Yeah, having to put up with your... _stalker-ish_ ways. They're almost _romantic."_

"I'm not a bloody stalker!" insisted Harry, holding the plant's pot. This week, it was his turn to take care of the plant.

"Ooh, are we talking about Harry's stalker tendencies?" asks Hermione excitedly, as she enters the portrait hole with a stack of books. "Let's not forget how you literally paced the Room of Requirement for like four hours trying to find out what he's up to! Talk about obsession. Give Malfoy a break, or is that something you can't do?"

"I am perfectly capable of ignoring Malfoy," said Harry firmly.

"Alright then," says Hermione, "Unless it's about the project, I dare you not to ever talk to or even _look at_ Malfoy."

"Deal."

Lavender came over and she and Ron started snogging, and Hermione took that as her cue to stomp off upstairs. "And I dare _myself_ not to kill Lav-Lav…"

* * *

Blaise and Draco were both lounging in the Slytherin common room.

"The Weasel's absolutely clueless. And annoying," added Blaise to Draco, "How's Potter?"

"He's a nosy prick in the skin," admitted Draco. "I'm a hundred percent sure the bloke stalks me."

"Potter's just returning the favor," smirked Blaise. "After all, here is a summary of your vocabulary for years one through four: _Potter this. Potter that. Potter this. Potter that. Look, Potter. Potter stinks. Potter. Potter. Potter. Potter."_

"I didn't sound like that."

"Oh yes you did," shot back Daphne, entering the common room and gracefully sitting on one of the armchairs with Theo at her heels. "You spent _ten hours_ creating those Potter stinks badges…"

"I did not take _ten hours,"_ he defended.

"You pulled an all nighter. Just for Potter," smirked Theo. "And in fifth year, that night we all got drunk? We were having a drinking game. One shot every time you said Potter."

"Stop romanticizing everything," Draco snapped at him. "I do not and will never have a _thing_ for Potter."

"You know, if you're so sure Potter's stalking you...then doesn't that mean you've been watching closely?"

"I can't stand your company anymore," huffed Draco. "The point is: my past self was horrible. None of it will happen again."

 _"_ _Sure…"_

* * *

For the next couple of Herbology classes Professor Sprout gave the pairs time to take observations on their plants and she was walking around checking to see that everyone's plants were being well taken care of. Harry and Malfoy just spent the entire time glaring at each other, thinking about the separate conversations they had with their housemates.

As if they ever _stalked_ each other. And even if they did stalk each other, it was out of hatred. Pure. Hatred.

Harry blurted out something that wasn't a good idea, "Malfoy, you say _I'm_ a stalker, but aren't you even more off a stalker? I mean, besides this year, you've always came to my compartment, boasting about one thing or the other—"

Malfoy's face turned scarlet, _"_ _Potter—_ I don't stalk!"

Harry smirked, liking the blush on his face. "You do it better than me, actually."

"Potter? Don't ever talk to me again. By the way, this week I'll take the Shrivelfig."

Meanwhile across the greenhouse, Blaise and Ron were starting to get on very well. They bonded on making bets on when Harry and Draco would realize their stalking meant something.

* * *

"You're already breaking the dare," snapped Hermione, and Harry looked at her.

"You're looking over at Malfoy," she elaborated.

"I think he's staring back too," commented Ron. "Ever notice the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables are on opposite sides of each other?"

"Honestly, what is with you two? While I'd _like_ to know what he's up to does not mean I'm a stalker. Give it a rest."

"You two are the ultimate stalkers. I love this project, when I think about it," said Ron. Harry's eyes darted to Malfoy, before he turned back to Ron.

"You're with _Zabini,"_ Harry reminded Ron, but he didn't seem to care as he went on,

"You even blush when you stalk each other!" exclaimed Hermione in a fangirl-ish sort of way.

"What is wrong with you two? First you're saying that Malfoy's horrible, and now you're in some sort of cult to get us together or something…I really hate this project."

He looked over and saw Malfoy joking with Zabini about something.

 _His smile wasn't that bad. It was actually kind of cute._

Oh dear Merlin, _what was happening to him?_

"Poor Ginny," said Ron off-handedly.

* * *

During the next and second to last project-session, they just sat in uncomfortable silence while writing down their observations of the plant. The House Unity Project was beneficial to some people, detrimental to others, but this pairing was just going from detrimental to just plain awkward.

The two have never been in this close proximity to each other for this long without one of them trying to rip the other's head off, and it felt weird to the pair. It was sixth year, so the rivalry had for the most part fizzled out. Instead they spent the time observing each other's features and wondering when the other became so hot.

"Stop staring at me like that, Potter," snapped Draco.

"I'd ask _you_ the same question," retorted Harry. "I mean, if I'm _that_ irresistible—"

"If _I'm_ that irresistible—"

"You're not irresistible."

"Neither are you."

"Prove I'm not irresistible," said Harry, not even knowing where his words were coming from. "Kiss me."

And to his surprise, that was _exactly_ what Malfoy did. Harry pulled back, shocked.

"Scared, Potter?" he asked, a glint in his eyes.

 _"_ _You wish."_

By the nearest tree, Ron grumbled as he handed over ten galleons to Blaise. He thought it'd take a whole year for them to admit their feelings.

 _Who knew what a 'House Unity Project' could do?_

* * *

 **A/N: Ahh so Ana's here, back in the QL business as a Captain and I am so RUsTY ahh! Anyways, thanks to Web (WritingBlock) for looking over my story! :3 Please do not leave a review. It's too bad for a review. Apologies to my judge. Btw, ALMOST done with the Malfoy Manor chap for the Meaning of Life ;)**

 **Please R &R :)**

 **-Ana**


	2. R2: Challenge Accepted

**Challenge Accepted **

**Captain's Task: Write a story that mostly takes place in Gambol and Japes**

 **Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 2 for Puddlemere United.**

 **Words without A/N: 926**

* * *

Lily Evans tapped her foot as she waited by Flourish and Blotts. ' _Marlene should've come back ages ago,'_ she thought bitterly. She was waiting for her friend, who had said she had to use the loo.

"Lily," someone greeted her. She looked up,

"Remus," she smiled warmly, "how's your summer been?"

"Good, for the most part," he said. "Heard you're Head-Girl this year."

Lily smirked. "Will you be joining me as Head-Boy?"

"Didn't make the cut," he replied.

Lily's eyes snapped up. " _What?"_ she exclaimed. "That doesn't leave many options! I can't exactly imagine Pettigrew as a Head Boy...and don't even get me _started_ on _Potter_ and _Black…"_

"Guess you'll have to find out on September 1st who it is," he winked at her. "Anyways, I came over here to pass a message from Marlene. She says she found Sirius at Gambol and Japes and to meet up with her over there."

Lily's face scrunched up, "The _joke-shop?_ The things I do for my friends… Walk me there, Rem?"

"Of course," said Remus, purposely failing to tell her that James Potter was also there.

When they reached Gambol and Japes, Lily sighed as she entered the shop. " _Why_ do people seem to like this stuff?"

A man with a white-beard stood up to greet Remus and Lily. "Anything you're looking for?"

"Oh, no, I'm just waiting up on a friend," Lily told the man warmly.

Then, the most annoying voice in the world spoke up.

" _Is that my Lily-flower I just heard?"_

"Tell Marlene I'll come back later," grumbled Lily to Remus, about to walk out of the shop.

A little bit about James Potter: He was the most annoying toe-rag in the world, and he would _never_ give up on her.

He'd asked Lily out on many different occasions over the past years, and he'd gotten many different responses from her, such as:

 _'No.'_

 _'In your dreams, Potter.'_

 _'Can't you realize I hate you?'_

 _'I'd rather go out with someone at my maturity level, and you are way below it.'_

Her personal favorite was:

 _'POTTER! IF YOU ASK ME THAT ONE MORE TIME, I'LL FEED YOU TO THE GIANT SQUID!'_

James Potter was grinning cheekily at her, while holding a bag of pranking materials. Lily had finally found Marlene and Black at a corner of the shop. Lily shot Marlene a dirty glare, motioning towards Potter and how she had indirectly led her straight to him. Black smirked, and Marlene shot Lily a look of apology and mouthed that she was almost done.

"Potter," she greeted coldly. "I'm not surprised to find you in such an immature shop."

Potter put his hand to his chest, feigning hurt. "You wound me. So, have you thought about my offer?"

"No," said Lily bluntly. " _No._ I will in no way, shape, or form go out with you! Now, I'm going to wait outside this shop until Marlene's done snogging your incorrigible friend and you're going to leave me alone! And _you!"_ she turned furiously to Remus. "Did you know he was going to be here?"

Remus shifted a bit guiltily.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed, stomping over to the exit and slamming the door on the way out.

James followed her to the door and practically yelled at her, "Fine, Evans. I'll leave you alone for now. But we're going to be seeing a _lot_ of each other over the school year."

"What are you on about?" snapped Lily, walking back in the shop and stepping closer to him. Potter grinned as he displayed to her a Head-Boy badge.

Lily was going to faint. _How on earth_ did _James Potter_ of _all people_ manage to get a Head-Boy badge?

"So, am I worthy of your attention now?"

Lily crossed her arms. "If anything, you're even less worthy than before, because now I have to spend an _entire school year with you._ The _only_ way things would be bearable is if you managed to go half the year without bullying anybody."

"I can _totally_ go half the school year without doing that!"

Remus snorted.

"Lily, I'm ready! I'm so sorry for the wait and leaving you with Potter," said Marlene sincerely.

Lily glared at her a moment, before grudgingly saying that it was okay. "Let's just get out of here," she muttered.

Potter called after them, "So what happens if I go half the school year without bullying anybody?"

Lily called back with mirth, "Then you can _finally_ go out with me!"

She smirked, knowing it was never going to happen.

"So, what happens if Potter actually _does_ stop messing with people for a year?" smirked Marlene, raising an eyebrow.

"He won't," said Lily confidently. "He'll crack at some point, and I'll _never_ go out with him."

She smirked. "We'll see about that, Lils."

Lily glared at her friend as the two girls left the shop in high spirits.

* * *

Back in Gambol and Japes, James was staring after Lily and Marlene as they walked from the shop.

"I highly _doubt_ that you can go a whole term without pranking somebody," stated Remus.

"Yeah, Prongs," added Sirius. "I mean, a whole term. Bloody insane!"

"I don't know how it's gonna work, but something on my bucket list _is_ to take Lily Evans to Hogsmeade, so I'm going to try it out."

Sirius groaned. "You're not saying…"

" _Challenge accepted."_

Gambol spoke up from the edge of the shop, "I give him three weeks before he cracks."

James glared at the shop owner from the distance.

"Two," smirked Sirius.

 _They'll see. They'll ALL see._

* * *

 **A/N: Ana's here with Round 2 XD I'm still so rUsTy ahh! Thanks so much to Web (WritingBlock) and Dessie (desertredwolf) for looking over my story! Apologies for the quality, lol. Anyways, I'm almost done with part 2 of the Malfoy Manor scene for the Meaning of Life! ;)**

 **Please R &R :)**

 **-Ana**


	3. R3: The Proposal (for lily)

**The Proposal**

 **Captain's Task: Write about a character Daring him/herself to face his/her fears**

 **Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 3 for Puddlemere United.**

 **Words without A/N: 1,340**

 **Also written as a super belated bday gift for Slytherin's-one-and-only. Only two and a half months late, right? ;) Happy extremely late bday, Lily! :3 I also nearly cried when I wrote this bc my ex-best-friend ships Nuna and would've loved this but she ditched me cuz I'm unappealing lmao would not be the first time. Lily, call this an appreciation gift as well cause you've stuck with me for more than three years now (I think?) which is sadly more than anyone IRL lmao. Also there's a Lina Quimby reference somewhere in here!**

* * *

Neville took a deep breath as he and Ginny walked into the Muggle jewelry shop. They had picked a Muggle jewelry shop in order to hide the news as much as possible. In just five days' time, he planned to propose to the woman he loved. He and Luna had been going out for years, and he felt that now was the time to take the final step.

But he had no idea on how to go about it. _What if she said no? What if she wasn't interested? What if he was going too fast?_

"Just relax," advised Ginny. "She's been dating you all this time. That _has_ to mean something."

"Hello," the woman at the counter beamed at the pair. "Is there anything you need today?"

"We're just browsing the engagement rings," replied Neville kindly.

The woman nearly let out a squeal. "Oh! I love proposals! Tell me. What does the lucky woman look like?"

"I know, right!" gushed Ginny, and Neville shot her a pointed glare.

"Blonde hair, grey eyes, ethereal…"

"Ooh! You'd do well with a navy blue topaz ring, perhaps? It'd work perfectly with skin tone!" The woman showed him a ring with with a sparkling crystal.

"It's so pretty," exclaimed Ginny. "What do you think, Neville?"

His eyes were focusing on a different ring with a perfect grey crystal. "How much is this worth?" he asked. The ring looked perfect, but Luna deserved the best.

"One thousand dollars," the woman said tritely.

"We'll take it," he said, a bit nervously. He now had the ring, but he still had no idea how on earth he was going to do the proposal.

* * *

"You can practice on me, Neville. I'll be Luna," offered Ginny softly.

"If Luna even agrees - Gin, they've invited me to be the Herbology Professor. I haven't told anyone yet, but that means she'd have to either move in with me near the school…"

"Nev, I see the way she looks at you. In my eyes, you have nothing to worry about. I know Harry said after he proposed that he was nervous too. I'll never understand guys," she shook her head.

"Well Gin, this is a big step, a new phase in one's life," said Neville seriously.

"Look at you. You're stressing yourself out," chided Ginny. "Just practice on me."

"Okay, erm...Luna, I realized I was in love with you during the Battle of Hogwarts, and I wanted to tell you so badly, since you know...we both thought we'd soon be dead..and ever since then I was in love with you. I'm in love with all your quirky ways. I'm in love with your light blonde hair and your grey eyes. I'm in love with every single thing about you, and I'd love it if we could spend the rest of our lives together."

He looked at Ginny for a moment.

"That's beautiful," she finally said. _"That's_ what you should say to Luna."

"Really? I thought I went a little too fast there…" he admitted. "Don't you think that was a bit too deep?"

"Girls _like_ deep!" exclaimed Ginny. "Luna will love it. Look, after your dinner date, you should take her out for a moonlight walk and propose to her. She'll love it, I promise you."

* * *

Luna frowned as she looked over at Neville. He'd taken her out to dinner at a fancy Muggle restaurant and was currently working out how the hell he was going to accomplish this.

"Are you alright, Neville?" she asked softly. "Is something bothering you? Perhaps a Wrackspurt?"

Neville shook his head and assured her he was fine.

"You know, Neville, if you want to tell me something you can. I suspect that it'll help rid the Wrackspurt from your brain," she advised, but he again reassured her that he was fine.

* * *

 _"Luna! Luna!" he called after the blonde girl. It was 1998, during the Battle of Hogwarts, and Neville knew he had to reveal his feelings soon. After all, they thought they'd both be dead by dawn._

 _She'd just spelled down a Death Eater and turned around, "Yes, Neville?" she asked innocently, looking up at him._

 _"Well first of all, look out!" he yelled, shoving her away from a Death Eater's spell and pulling her behind a tree._

 _"Thanks, Neville," she beams gratefully. "Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"_

 _"Um…"_

 _"Go on. It'd help get rid of the Wrackspurt in your brain."_

 _He blushed furiously._

 _"You know, Neville, I think I know what you're trying to tell me," she said honestly, losing the ethereal look completely. "And when Harry wins the war, we'll go for it."_

 _"When?"_

"When."

* * *

He didn't think that it'd be this easy this time. This wasn't a love confession, this was an invitation for her to spend the rest of her life with him. She didn't even know that he was accepted to be the Herbology Professor yet.

The waitress asked what they wanted for dessert.

"Do you have pudding?" asked Neville.

"Of course. What flavor?" she asked warmly.

Neville looked over at Luna.

Luna faltered. "Nev, you really don't have to…"

"But I want to, love," he said firmly.

"Vanilla," she said, with a small smile. The waitress nodded and left. "That was very thoughtful, Neville," she smiled at him, before frowning again. "But I still sense so many Wrackspurts...are you _sure_ you're alright, Neville?"

For the fourth time he assured her she was fine. She drifted to her own thoughts and he to his anxiety-ridden ones, before the waitress arrived with two cups of pudding.

"Thank you so much," the couple replied in unison.

Luna kept to herself as she ate the pudding, and Neville had an inkling that she already knew what he was trying to ask him. One of the reasons he fell for her was her intuition; even with all her quirks, she always seemed to know what was going on.

He paid the bill before suggesting to Luna that they go out on a moonlight walk.

"That sounds lovely," she smiled.

Luna managed to successfully distract him, talking about the fascinating creatures her father discovered. Oh... _her father._ When he and Luna had first started dating, her father told him a detailed account of what will "happen" to his body if he ever hurt his little girl. He'd never hurt Luna in a million years, but her father's talk did scare him to some degree.

"I love you so much," he admitted to her.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Is that the thing that you're dying to tell me? Because I know that. We both know that. I still sense the Wrackspurts, Nev."

"No...it's not…" he admitted, before sinking to one knee. His nerves went away as soon as he saw the beaming grin on Luna's face.

"Luna, I first realized I was in love with you during the Battle, and I told you. I would've probably waited a lot longer, if there wasn't a high chance we'd be dead by dawn. Ever since then I've been falling for you. I've fallen for your quirky ways, your intuition, your light blonde hair, your grey eyes and more. And I don't deserve you, Luna, I don't deserve you just like Draco Malfoy doesn't deserve Lina Quimby. So Luna Lovegood, would you do me the _honor_ of marrying me?"

"The Wrackspurts have cleared," beamed Luna. "See, Neville? Don't you feel so much _better_ now? And yes Neville, I will marry you! And _oh,_ give Draco a break, he's really trying for her!"

"You...you will?" he stammered, as she allowed him to put the ring on her finger. He ignored her last comment. "Even if we might have to spend time at Hogwarts because of my acceptance as Herbology Professor?"

"Of course, as long as I get to spend time with you. And there are loads of fascinating creatures at Hogwarts," she gave him a small smile. "But you shouldn't have dragged it on. _Never_ be afraid to tell me anything. Promise me."

"Of course," he whispered, leaning in to give her a kiss.

* * *

 **A/N: And done! Whew! Still rusty. This was no doubt my most stressful round so far. The idea came nicely, but I was on vacation most of the round and I've just been dumped with some family problems IRL and I'm honestly not right rn lmao so yeah but I pulled through XD Ahh bUt the Lina reference I put in I'm shaking. If they dock a point for it, it's so worth it! It is for Lily, after all!**

 **Also thanks to Dessie (desertredwolf) for looking over my story! :3**

 **Please R &R :)**

 **-Ana**


	4. R4: Damaged Hearth

**Damaged Hearth **

**Captain's Task: Write a fic about the Carrow family**

 **Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 4 for Puddlemere United.**

 **Word Count without A/N's: 1,246**

 ***note: Hestia and Flora Carrow are on Harry Potter Wiki.**

* * *

Hestia took a deep breath as she scanned the ball that her family was holding for the Sacred Twenty-Eight families that weren't considered blood-traitors. Her mother had put her in a frilly pink dress that she could hardly breathe in, and threatened her and her sister, Flora, that if either of them ruined her ball, they'd be very sorry.

Flora already had a smile on her face as she warmly greeted guests and started talking gaily to Pansy Parkinson. Flora was the _perfect Carrow,_ the one everyone adored.

Hestia secretly despised her family. She hated everything they stood for. Blood purity, marriage contracts, and the extermination of everyone not worthy. She especially hated her Uncle Amycus and Aunt Alecto, and the feelings were mutual. The only time when Hestia wasn't a severe disappointment for her crazy family was when she was sorted into Slytherin along with her sister.

When her Uncle and Aunt were over, they would dote on Flora and give her a bunch of presents, and Hestia would be lucky enough to not get tripped down the stairs by "accident." Hestia shuddered at the thought of the memory.

"Well, if it isn't _the ugly Carrow twin,"_ crowed a voice.

Hestia looked up and raised a mere eyebrow, "May I _help_ you, Parkinson? I may be ugly, but at least I don't look like a pug. No wonder Draco can't stand you."

Parkinson's face reddened, "I'll tell your mother that you haven't been treating your guests well, _Carrow."_ She smirked at the frightened look on Hestia's face before sauntering off.

Hestia wished she weren't so scared of her family, but it was like a vicious cycle. Her jaw dropped when she saw that Pansy was indeed whispering something in her mother's ear. Usually, she just made empty threats.

Her mother gave her a black glare, and she took in a breath, knowing she was going to get it.

 _It_ consisted of several things.

Beatings. Bruises. The whole deal.

"Hestia, may I have a talk with you upstairs, please?" asked her mother faux-cheerily.

" _Actually,_ Lady Carrow, do you mind if I take your daughter dancing instead?" a familiar male voice said. Hestia's heart leaped.

Her mother sniffed haughtily, "Flora's over there."

"Lady Carrow, why would I want to dance with Flora? I don't like her personality in the slightest. My apologies, but I actually prefer Hestia."

"Fine," her mother said through gritted teeth, shooting Hestia a dirty glare before walking off, with her heels clacking behind her.

"Thanks for saving me, Blaise," Hestia said softly, offering him a small smile.

"Of course, Tia. I know how awful that woman is," he shook his head.

"The entire family's awful," she shook her head as he twirled her. "It's not like I have any escape from them, anyways. Then I go to Hogwarts and most of the girls in my House are awful too, save Daphne. And my sister's _favorite_ activity is ' _make-Hestia's-life-difficult.'_ And you're about the only bearable Slytherin guy…sometimes I wonder what Gryffindor's like."

"Don't go all Potter-loyalist on me now," teased Blaise, dipping her.

"Wouldn't dream of it," she grinned. "Oh, I wish I could stay over at your place again. I miss you so much. My aunt and uncle are coming over tomorrow. Did I mention that I hate them?"

"For the ten millionth time," he smirked at her.

"Apologies for my outfit, it isn't like me at all."

"Your mother has horrible taste. I mean, pink? You hate pink."

Hestia rolled her eyes, "But Flora _loves_ pink, and my mother wanted us to dress the same together."

"Oh, Hestia. What are you doing dancing with him? Mother would hate it," asked Flora sweetly, walking over to the pair.

"It's none of your business who I dance with," said Hestia coldly.

Flora threw her a sweet smile before announcing she was going to dance with Theodore Nott.

Hestia smirked as she looked up at Blaise, "Joke's on her. Theo hates her guts."

Blaise smirked as he twirled her around. The two of them noticed Flora and Pansy dancing with Theo and Draco respectively, and they also noticed both of the boys were hiding expressions of disgust as they did so.

Ignoring her parents' glares, she danced the night away, knowing she'd have to deal with her family the next day…

* * *

"Good morning, Amycus and Alecto, I hope you arrived safely?" asked her mother, taking their coats.

"I don't know what you mean by that, Melinda. We just Apparated over, who cares what those filthy muggles think," sneers Amycus. "Where's Evan?"

"Evan's out late for work," her mother responded.

"My, my, Flora, how you've grown since the last time we saw you!" exclaimed Alecto. Flora beamed at the praise. "How was the ball, Melinda?"

"It went as usual," my mother said stiffly, preparing the tea for everyone. "Now if only _Hestia_ didn't attempt to ruin our reputation by dancing with Blaise Zabini."

Alecto looked at Hestia for the first time, and it was a look of pure disgust. " _That_ family. There's no father. Maria used to be so lovely, I tell you. So lovely. Now, she gallivants with Wizards and _Muggles_ alike, taking their money! Can you _imagine,_ Melinda! Taking money from a _Muggle!"_

"I know," said her mother in a sympathetic tone. "I pity that woman. But I do not want _us_ associating with _them."_ She sent a glare over at Hestia, who took a breath.

Hestia scowled darkly. _One day, status won't even matter._

Then the talking turned to darker matters. "Are you going to the Quidditch World Cup, Melinda?"

"No. Especially with the _events_ that are happening," her mother said, her eyes twinkling.

Amycus tittered. "Oh yes. You'd want to keep your Flora safe, wouldn't you?"

"Of course. Flora is my number one priority," said her mother firmly. Hestia merely raised an eyebrow at that.

Alecto rose up suddenly. "I'm going to get settled in," she said.

"Hestia, escort her to the first guest room," barked her mother.

Hestia gritted her teeth, "Right this way, Alecto."

Alecto merely gave her a disgusted sneer before following her up the steps. When they reached the room, she suddenly pinned Hestia to the wall, nearly drawing blood from her long fingernails. "You know, Melinda's the nicest woman to ever grace the planet, because if you were _my_ child...you'd be disowned faster than you can say the word _Zabini._ Or better yet, _tortured_ into doing the right thing."

Hestia wanted to say something bold against her, but merely managed to say: "Can… can… you get your fingernails off me?"

Alecto sneered, before pushing Hestia roughly away from her so she toppled down the stairs and slamming the door.

Hestia quickly pulled herself up, only to be met with her sister's sneer. "I don't want your blood anywhere near me. Clean it up."

"I'm the older twin."

"I'm the _loved_ twin."

Hestia eventually managed to clean up the blood and limp up to her room. _She hated summer._ An owl was waiting by her window with a letter. She immediately recognized the owl as Blaise's and opened it. She gasped. It was a necklace with an emerald stone.

 _For the better Carrow._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Blaise_

She just had to deal with her twisted family for another summer. Then she could go back to Hogwarts and spend time with Blaise and Daphne, pretending they didn't exist.

Until she was of age, the vicious cycle would repeat itself over and over again.

* * *

 **A/N: Sooo...I had to write a fic about the Carrow family. What fun. *sarcasm* Anyways, I used Carrow characters from Harry Potter Wiki so I could make the characters my own and bearable. Anyways, potentially the worst fic I've ever written since the writing task threw me off so much lol. So. Rusty me. But hey, at least I got to write some angst. Now that things are looking up in Meaning of Life, I need somewhere to pour my angst.**

 **Betas: Shay/Michal (The Kawaii Neko). Thank you for looking over my story even after I steal all the shiniess :3**

 **Lina Quimby update: idk tbh. No inspiration lol.**

 **Please R &R :)**

 **-Ana**


	5. R5: One-Sided

**One-Sided**

 **Captain's Task: Red rose (as inspired by Rose Weasley) Write about a character in love during their time at school**

 **Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 5 for Puddlemere United.**

 **Word Count Without A/N's 1,797**

* * *

Albus looked up from his chair in the Slytherin Common Room to see Scorpius enter, looking happy. He sat next to Albus, and the sixth year raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I have a date tomorrow," he said breathlessly, as if he couldn't believe it. "With _Rose."_

Albus' eyebrows shot up to his hairline. For years and years his best friend had been doing the most ridiculous things to woo his cousin, which had always resulted in failure. While Scorpius had always been hung up on Rose, Albus had dated a fair amount of girls, none of which he'd incredibly loved and all of which he'd grown tired of eventually. The only people currently in this school who he actually liked were Scorpius, as well as his own sister Lily.

"And _how_ did you manage to land a date with my cousin?" he asked. "The most stubborn person I know?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Well, she said she was just doing it for the _learning experience,_ but I reckon if I do everything just right she'll want to do it again. So, Al? Advice? I mean, you've been on plenty of dates before."

"You're forgetting that none of the relationships I've had have gone past two weeks," Albus pointed out sourly. The thought of Scorpius and Rose together had put him in a foul mood and he didn't even know why.

"Mate, _please?_ It's not everyday that a guy gets a 'yes' from his dream girl!" begged Scorpius.

"I dunno, maybe just look nice, get flowers, all the like."

"Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't be going this overboard, might scare her off, you know? Rose Weasley. Can you believe it Al? _Rose Weasley…"_ still muttering about Rose, Scorpius walked off towards the dormitories.

Albus wished he knew why he was so pissed off, but he hadn't the slightest idea. Scorpius had been going after Rose for years, and now he'd finally gotten his chance. He should be happy for his best mate, right?

Yet, he wasn't. In fact, he felt as if something was gnawing at his stomach, or maybe farther up his body— his heart. He felt the same way that he felt when James got a new broomstick and he didn't. He felt the same way that he felt when Lily was doted on when she got an O on her essay, but that was just expected of Albus. He felt jealous. But he didn't understand— what would he even be jealous _of_?

His best mate had gotten his girl. It wasn't like he was jealous of the relationship, he didn't even care much for those anyways. So what could it be?

"Are you alright, Al darling?" simpered a concerned female voice. He put down his potions homework to find himself looking at Celeste Withrow. He'd gone out with her last year, but she never took the breakup seriously and believed he still ' _internally felt for her.'_ She also tended to go after any girl spotted with him, much to his chagrin.

"Cel," he said, "Are you free tomorrow for Hogsmeade?"

She gasped in delight. "Of course I am, always for you! But don't you usually go to Hogsmeade with Scorpius?"

"Oh, Cel…" Albus put an arm around her, causing her to swoon with delight. "I'm afraid the tables have turned."

* * *

The next morning, Albus had to listen to Scorpius go on and on about how he was looking forward to his date with Rose.

' _I hope it doesn't work out,'_ he thought bitterly, still not understanding why. He also didn't understand why he actually asked Celeste Withrow, a pain in the ass, to go to Hogsmeade with him. He'd be better off not going, to be honest. Maybe he could find a way to ditch her…?

"Where're you taking her, Scorp?" asked Albus.

"I was thinking Madam Puddifoot's, you know that place where all the couples go," said Scorpius, "And after that the bookshop, because I know how much she loves books. And I _really_ don't want to mess this up…"

Albus pictured Scorpius and Rose snogging in Madam Puddifoot's and wanted to puke.

As he scrambled around preparing for his date, Albus noticed the clock.

"Mate, it's 6:30 AM. On a Saturday!" he groaned, burying his head into a pillow.

"I meet up with Rose at nine. That means I have three hours to make sure everything goes perfect," Scorpius stated, dashing to the other side of the room to throw on a tie.

"You sound like a teenage girl."

"I can't help it! It's -"

" _Rose Weasley._ I know!" he snapped, exasperated. "It's like the millionth time you've said it."

"What's up with you, Al? You've been on edge ever since Rose said yes to me. You're happy for me, aren't you?"

"Of course I'm happy for you, Scorp," he assured, hoping it was good enough. Scorpius looked at Albus questioningly, but dropped it and continued getting ready.

* * *

When Albus entered the Great Hall, he paused when he saw his sister, Lily, followed by five other girls he hadn't bothered to learn the names of heading towards the Gryffindor table. "Anyone _but_ Rose Weasley, honestly," one of the girls said. "Why her?"

"I have to admit while he isn't my type, Scorpius is _hot,"_ admitted Lily. "Rose is honestly an annoying know-it-all with like, one friend. Trust me, I've had to grow up with the girl. A _family favorite._ Everyone always tells me I should be more like her! This " _relationship"_ won't work out, believe me. They'll go on their date, Scorpius will grow tired of her, end of story." The girls tittered at her comment, making various responses of agreement.

"He's been chasing after her for five years," one of them said in disgust.

"I know, Selene. He has no taste," agreed Lily, nodding. "I mean, if anything, I kinda ship him with Al."

"Oh my god, Lily," one of the girls gasped, "I can _so_ see that!"

Lily clapped her hands, "Let's sit and eat before all the good food's taken!" The girls walked off, leaving Albus in confusion.

"Mate, you alright?" He tensed when Scorpius put a hand on his shoulder. "You were just frozen there watching Lily and her friends talk."

 _What did those girls mean when they 'shipped them?' Last time he checked, he didn't swing that way._ He shrugged it off as his sister and a bunch of teenage girls being delusional.

* * *

He'd met up with Celeste later that morning to go to Hogsmeade. She'd chattered away to him and clung onto his arm, but he'd completely ignored her in favor of stalking his best friend and his cousin, occasionally nodding when Celeste expectantly looked at him.

In the distance he saw Scorpius entering Madam Puddifoot's with Rose. With Celeste on his arm, he quickly entered the tea shop. Upon seeing him, Rose had given Albus a smile, which he returned hesitantly, still thinking about Lily's earlier comments.

The twinge he'd felt earlier last evening had returned, and was possibly even worse than before. Scorpius and Rose looked to be having a great time. Rose seemed happy, and Scorpius was looking at her as if she were his world.

"Why are you always looking over at Scorpius and Weasley?" demanded Celeste, snapping him out of his thoughts and grabbing his hand.

"I'm not, Cel," he promised her, before forcing himself to turn away from Scorpius and Rose.

Celeste sipped her cup of hot chocolate and fingered a lock of her hair. "I must admit, Al. I was surprised when I heard that Weasley had actually agreed to go out with Scorpius. I mean, both you and I have seen firsthand for five years the things he'd pulled to get Weasley to say yes to him," her eyes lit up with malice, "I give them like a month."

"I hope you're right, Cel," blurted out Albus, "Um, I mean…"

Celeste smirked, "This is rich! Even his best friend agrees! Many think it's just infatuation, not real."

But Scorpius and Rose were proving Albus, Celeste, Lily, and a majority of the school population wrong as they continued talking and laughing.

" _Ew,"_ whined Celeste, and Albus looked up to stare at her questioningly. Celeste nodded her head towards Scorpius and Rose.

Rose had leaned in, and they were snogging.

" _They just went out half an hour ago!"_ exclaimed Albus furiously, and Celeste had her eyes covered.

"I have to use the bathroom Al," stated Celeste, before leaving the table.

Scorpius and Rose were still snogging, and Albus felt like breaking his hot chocolate cup. When they'd finally pulled apart, Rose walked over to the bathroom. As she passed his table, Albus for some reason felt like ruining _her._

Scorpius was by his side before he could stew in his thoughts any longer. "Can you believe it, Al? _She_ kissed _me._ Which probably means we're going to be dating…"

"Tell me, Scorpius," said Albus, keeping his voice under control. "What do you know about Rose besides the fact that you think she's hot? Do you know her? Does she know you like I know the both of you? Does she know you like we know each other?"

"Well, I reckon the knowing'll happen over time…why can't you just stop being a cynic for once in your life and accept us?" asked Scorpius honestly. "We love each other."

"You've been with each other for an hour. Does she know exactly the way you like your food? Does she know your quirks? I don't think so," he said, not knowing where the venom in his voice was even coming from.

Scorpius huffed. "I can't stand you right now."

"Maybe you should go and snog your little lover."

"Maybe I will. Have fun with Withrow."

"Celeste means nothing to me. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

How could his best mate just...date his cousin in an hour? And then he realized, it had nothing to do with Rose at all. In fifth year when Scorpius had a thing for Candy Nichols, a Hufflepuff girl in their year, he'd felt the same thing.

 _Is it possible that he loved his best friend?_

* * *

Scorpius and Rose had made their relationship official over the next two weeks, and they seemed to be snogging whenever he was there. He and Scorpius also weren't talking anymore after he'd failed to be happy for him and Rose.

" _I miss you Al,"_ he'd say occasionally, " _I miss us."_

"I miss you too, Scorp," he'd mumble back, but Rose would show up, greet Al with a smile, and go on her merry way and snog his Scorpius.

 _His?_

And as he watched them snog for the millionth time, he realized:

 _He was madly in love with someone that'll never love him back._

* * *

 **A/N: And done! A Scorbus this time. I know it's rusty, you don't have to tell me lmao. Anyways, I'm working on the Lina chap btw.**

 **Beta's: June (JBrocks917) & Shay (The Kawaii Neko) Thank you! **

**Please R &R :)**

 **-Ana**


	6. R6: The Gang

**The Gang**

 **Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 6 for Puddlemere United.**

 **Captain's Task: write a fic inspired by the movie 'The Lost Boys'**

 **Word Count without A/N's: 2,005**

 **(note: Muggle!AU) - prompt used: replaced 'the Vampires infesting the town' with The Gang**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Assignment # 2 - Performing Arts - Task 3 - 'Blackmail is such an ugly word'**

* * *

"So," The Starbucks barista raised an eyebrow as he handed the pumpkin spice latte over, "you're the new kid in town?"

Sirius' eyes had a mischievous glint in them. "I suppose you could say that."

"I'm James Potter," introduced the barista.

"Sirius Black."

"We don't get new people often," said James, stretching out his arms. "I'd say the last time someone new came to our town was five years ago."

"Yeah, Mum insisted we come live with my uncle here for a while, but from what I see, it doesn't seem like a really good town," mused Sirius. A thought sparked in his mind, and he couldn't help but brag a little to his new acquaintance. "In my old town, I was known for my pranks."

James raised an eyebrow. "Well, here, _I'm_ known for my pranks. One sec." He slid to the front of the stand to serve the waiting customer.

Sirius smirked. "You think you're a better prankster than me? In my old town, I pranked this Mulciber kid so hard that he didn't come to school for a _month_."

James scoffed. "Oh, please. _I_ got this kid called Simon Nott _expelled_. Not that he didn't deserve it. I'm pretty sure he joined The Gang." The way James said 'The Gang' felt capitalized and important, but there was also a tinge of fear — as if he couldn't quite say what the real name was.

"'The Gang?'" asked Sirius, a tad incredulous.

James shrugged. "Many people don't think they're a big deal, but I do. Sometimes random people disappear. _Sometimes_ their bodies are found dead."

"And people don't think this is a big deal?" deadpanned Sirius, raising an eyebrow.

"I told you," James replied, "sucky town."

" _Potter!_ Stop talking and get to work!" a man barked from the back, motioning towards the impatient customers at the front.

"Yeah, _Potter,"_ smirked Sirius, leaning back on his chair and sipping his coffee.

James glowered at him.

"I'm sure we'll be very good friends."

* * *

Sirius entered the house to find his brother, Regulus, talking and laughing with two kids he'd never seen before.

"Oi! Can you get us some chips?"

"Do it yourself, I'm not your servant," he snapped at his brother. "Who're they, anyways?"

"This is Victoria Greengrass and that's Simon Nott," he introduced. The two kids barely gave him the time of day before going back to their conversation.

Sirius' blood went cold. " _I got this kid named Simon Nott_ expelled _,"_ James Potter's voice rang in his head.

"Oh," he merely said, before going up the steps.

* * *

The Gang couldn't be real. He'd been in this town for a week, sure, but nothing remotely bad had even happened. James was probably paranoid, and Simon and Victoria were merely friends of his estranged brother.

He found himself in the same Starbucks the next day. "So, you couldn't stay away from me, could you?" smirked James.

"Well, aren't you modest," Sirius retorted. "Nah, I'm just here for a pumpkin spice latte."

James passed the order on to another employee before leaning across the table. "Have you heard of the recent attacks?"

"No?"

"Some old lady was killed on Maple Street," frowned James. "It's on the news."

"And how recently did that happen?"

Before James could answer, a boy entered the shop, carrying a load of books. "Oh, hey Remus," he called, giving him a lopsided grin. "I see you're giving yourself too much work, as usual."

"I see you're slacking, as usual," the boy commented to James. A different employee handed Sirius his drink.

"Oh, this is my friend, Remus Lupin," introduced James. "Remus, this is Sirius. I met him yesterday."

"You just met a random bloke off the streets," he deadpanned, almost dropping his books. "You never cease to amaze me. That wasn't a compliment, by the way."

"I may be a random bloke, but I'm probably the most awesome random bloke you'll find," said Sirius, winking over at Remus who just coughed in skepticism, sat down, and started studying.

"It's July! We don't even have school!" Sirius exclaimed in wonder, staring over at Remus.

James shrugged, as if to say he had no idea.

"So, the attack on Maple Street?" prompted Sirius, returning to their previous conversation.

"Sudden," said James. "They couldn't find out who did it -"

"Potter! Back to work! Smith is gonna burn himself out if he keeps doing everything!" the voice in the back barked. James grumbled, and Sirius smirked.

As James started working, Sirius wandered over to Remus' table.

"Whatcha studying?"

"History," Remus said, not looking up.

"Why?"

"Because it's fun," was his short reply.

 _Studying? For fun? Wow._

He peered over at what Remus was looking at. _History of Eastern Los Angeles._ "What's so interesting about this town?" Sirius wondered. From what he'd seen it was just a rundown version of the actual Los Angeles.

"It doesn't seem like much, but there's actually a lot of history behind it," said Remus in reply.

"You know, we believe The Gang's been traced back multiple generations," said James. "And it all leads up to one person…Tom Riddle. Before him, there were no murders or disappearances here at all. It was peaceful."

"You two have really thought this Gang stuff out, haven't you?" asked Sirius. These two were the only ones who'd talked about The Gang. Everywhere else he went there was no mention of it.

"Everyone wants to believe the murders and disappearances are at random when really, they all have some sort of connection," answered Remus.

"And the connection is…?"

"They all happen on the first Thursday of the month."

* * *

" _As if I'd ever join your group," a voice hissed._

" _Think again, Regulus," said Simon, his voice dangerous. "You know what happens to people who deny an offer to join The Gang? Well, we can't have them going around blabbing about our little society."_

 _Victoria stood off to Simon's side, looking uncomfortable._

" _I won't tell, I swear. Just leave me alone."_

" _We can't risk it," snarled Simon, pushing Regulus against the wall. Sirius moved to aid, but found he couldn't._

" _Are you going to kill me?" whispered Regulus, his voice low. Victoria let out a small gasp and stood even further behind Simon._

" _I'm not going to kill you," said Simon, and his face twisted into a malicious grin. "I'm gonna kill your family. So what's it gonna be? Are you gonna join, or not?"_

" _I'll join."_

" _Good. Every member of The Gang must pass an initiation," said Simon simply, letting go of Regulus._

" _What's the initiation?" asked Regulus, his voice fearful._

 _Victoria spoke this time, her voice trembling,_

" _You have to kill someone. This Thursday, which is tomorrow. And if you don't succeed, Riddle kills your family."_

" _So you're blackmailing me?" asked Regulus angrily._

" _Ah. Blackmailing is such an ugly word."_

Sirius shot up in his bed with a start. He had to share a room with Regulus, who was sleeping soundly next to him.

 _Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream…_

Or so he thought.

* * *

"I had this dream," confessed Sirius to James and Remus. They'd met up in a nearby park. "It was about The Gang, whom I thought, until last night, you were just paranoid about."

"Oh?" they said, interested.

"They threatened my brother…we don't really talk much, but I have no clue whether it's a dream or not. They said if he doesn't kill someone and join the Gang, then Riddle will kill his family, meaning me, our parents, and Alphard. I'm not close to the family, but I know he is. Shite, if this is real…and I know it won't be easy for him to murder."

"Mate, The Gang has you blacklisted," deadpanned James.

"We don't even know if this is a dream or not!" argued Sirius. "Hopefully, it's a dream…and this isn't about me! It's about Reg!"

"I saw your brother, I think," said Remus. "He's about up to your shoulder-height, right? With pitch-black hair and grey eyes. I saw him with Simon and Victoria earlier today...they were talking, but I feel like Simon was threatening him because his face turned pale white in fear."

"If this is true," deadpanned Sirius, "then this is _exactly_ why people need to choose their friends wisely."

He stormed away from them.

"Where're you going?" asked James.

"I'm going to give this Simon a piece of my mind," snarled Sirius.

"Wait, wait! It's not Simon we should go after!" said James. "He said Riddle's going to kill your family, right? We need to find whoever Riddle is."

"Riddle is one of the most respected people in this _town,"_ deadpanned Remus. "If we go after him, we'll just end up arrested."

James' eyes widened. "Didn't they say that that your brother had to kill someone _today?_ Or _you'd_ get killed?"

"I'm _really_ hoping this is a dream."

"Any of you hear about the death of Peter Pettigrew?" asked James. "It happened last night." Hhe gave Sirius a look.

"Okay, listen. We're not going to blame my brother for something he probably didn't do," said Sirius bluntly.

"It was via food poisoning," said Remus. "So indirect killing."

"Okay, it was just a dream I had, and for all we know Remus, what you saw between him, Simon, and Victoria might have just been a normal conversation," insisted Sirius.

The door to the Starbucks James was currently working in opened, and Regulus entered. Victoria was with him, but Simon was nowhere to be seen.

"I'd like a caramel frappe. _Extra_ caramel," ordered Victoria.

"Just coffee for me," said Regulus, glancing suspiciously at his brother.

Regulus and Victoria exited just as quickly as they had entered.

"I say we follow them," hissed James. "My shift's over, maybe they'll lead us to Gang Headquarters."

"We're _not_ going to go spying on my brother," hissed Sirius back, but a small nagging feeling caused him to give in; maybe it was real, and maybe, he could save his brother.

So ten minutes later found the three of them quietly running after Regulus and Victoria. When they were a safe distance behind them, they stopped to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Food poisoning?" asked Victoria, sipping her drink. "I did something similar. The thought of killing someone gives me the creeps."

"I feel so bad doing it," said Regulus. "And I have a feeling my brother Sirius suspects me too. He gave me this look…and his barista friend was giving me the stare of hell."

"He got my drink wrong on purpose," frowned Victoria. "And I feel — I felt — awful doing it too, but we have to do what must be done to save our families. And, as Simon says, 'blackmail is such an ugly word.' Anyway, he needs us back in five minutes, so we'd better get going."

 _Is that how the Gang operates? Blackmailing people's families to get them to join?_

The pair broke into a jog. The three boys followed them into an alley, where Victoria and Regulus seemed to disappear.

" _I told you!"_ James was on his feet. "It's up to the three of us, and only the three of us, to find out what this Gang is, where they meet, and how to defeat them."

"And save Reg from it," added Sirius.

"Looks like we're going to be a team now," said Remus.

"Question is, what do we call ourselves?" mused James.

"We're restoring order to the town, so maybe the Order? I mean our goal here is to save Reg and anyone else pulled into the Gang - I feel like there's more to that Victoria girl than we think - and to stop disappearances from happening," suggested Sirius. "And Simon can stuff his blackmail phrase."

"The Order of the Phoenix," added Remus.

James and Sirius give him a look.

"What? Phoenixes are cool!"

"Question is, can we do it?" asked James.

"Of course we can," replied Sirius confidently.

* * *

 **A/N: Round 6 done! I tried to combine it with the Hogwarts forum bc I don't have time to write another oneshot frankly like this comp and school is already getting me, fingers crossed that I did the prompt at least a little bit lol.**

 **Anyways, Ana is back in school and hating herself! WHOO!**

 **Beta'd by Legend of Today (Lily), desertredwolf (Dessie), JBrocks917 (June), and isaacswolfsbane (Ned) You four are gems!**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Please R &R :)**

 **-Ana**


	7. R7: Hermione's Confusing Squares

**Hermione's Confusing Squares**

 **Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 7 for Puddlemere United.**

 **Captain's Task: Write about the conflict within wizarding society, between those who want to study Muggle technology in order to understand it better and those who think it's a bunch of garbage**

 **The Golden Snitch - Hogwarts - Slytherin - Build the Burrow Challenge - Wallpaper: write about a character being frustrated**

 **Word Count without A/N's: 1,075**

* * *

" _...but from that day forward, the wizard helped the villagers like his father before him, lest the pot cast off its slipper, and begin to hop once more."_

Ron quietly closed his copy of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard,_ noticing little Hugo was sound asleep in his bed. He planted a kiss on his son's forehead before exiting the room. He then entered his daughter's room, noticing Rose had fallen asleep while reading a book. He smiled fondly before closing her door as well.

Tiptoeing down the stairs, Ron's eyebrows raised when he saw his beloved wife starting to open a box.

"And what would that be?"

Hermione looked at her husband, her lips twitching upward. "This, Ronald, is a smartphone."

Ron's eyebrows furrowed as he stared blankly at the small square in his wife's hand. "I can't even use a regular fellytone," he finally said.

"Muggles use these," said Hermione breathlessly, "I just wanted to try one, see how it works."

Ron peered at the small square. Hermione had pressed a button and it started to light up. " _What's it doing?"_ asked Ron fearfully.

Hermione chuckled lightly. "That just means it's turning on," she explained to him gently.

Ron frowned, "I don't see the point of it, love. I mean, what does the square thing do?"

"Well, you can text people on these. If both people have one of these, then you could send texts to each other and it'd take seconds for the message to make it through. Versus owls, where you have to wait hours on end," explained Hermione earnestly, "Communication would be much easier if we could do things like this!"

"But love, owls are...less confusing," he frowned. Suddenly, there was large print on the little square that said something about "setting up the device." Hermione tapped the screen, and it started asking her weird questions, such as a primary/elementary school.

' _Is 'texting' people really worth the weird questions?'_ wondered Ron to himself. He voiced his thoughts to her, causing her to give out another amused chuckle,

"Well, I suppose it's a frustrating process in the beginning. But it'll definitely be worth it in the end," she replied.

"How do you text people?" wondered Ron.

"I'll show you," she promised, as she finished setting up the confusing square. He watched her curiously, until the confusing square showed him _more confusing squares_ inside the _original confusing square._

"These are called apps," explains Hermione.

"Apps?" repeated Ron in confusion, sitting by her on the couch. He could imagine his dad getting really excited about this kind of stuff, but it was all merely a confusing blur to him.

"For example, this one tells you what the weather is," said Hermione, pointing at a tiny blue square with a cloud on it.

"But we have the radio for that," frowned Ron, not understanding in the slightest how a tiny blue square could be more efficient than the radio in the homes of most wizarding families.

"But this is more efficient! Muggles have a whole new way of communicating that's frankly less messy than owls," declared Hermione.

"But owls are less confusing," argued Ron. "Plus, even if you were able to get everyone to use these, you'll never appeal to the pureblood supremacists. Half would be against it and half for it, and it'd all be very confusing…"

"You know, Harry agrees with me," fired back Hermione, "He even said he was going to try and get a smartphone of his own."

Ron raised his eyebrow at Harry getting one of the confusing squares. "Harry agreed?"

"Yes, he did," said Hermione, somewhat smugly. Ron raised an eyebrow. "So, how _do_ you text people?" asked Ron curiously.

Hermione pointed to a green square with a text bubble on it. Ron leaned over and tapped the square, which opened to show print reading: _new message_ and a symbol that looked vaguely like a writing utensil. Suddenly, letters popped up on the screen.

" _What's going on? Did I destroy it?"_ asked Ron in alarm. He didn't think this device was important but he didn't want to upset Hermione either.

Hermione chuckled again, taking a breath, "No, these letters are what you use to type the message. So, just as writing in print, you'd use the keyboard to write things."

Ron impatiently typed on the keyboard, causing gibberish to appear on the screen. "It's not working!" he exclaimed, frustrated.

"That's because you have to be _patient_ and tap precisely on the correct letters," explained Hermione.

"You're saying Harry _agreed_ to using this?" asked Ron incredulously. With owls, it was simple. He just had to write on a quill and the point of his message was clear. With this, he had to _type his message patiently and remember which confusing square to click, which are conveniently located in a bigger confusing square!_

Hermione typed a proper message, sending it to herself. Ron's eyes widened slightly at how easily her hands went on the keys, and wondered if it came from years of living with her Muggle parents and visiting them, as well as her aunt and cousins, often.

But he himself didn't see the point. Wizards already _had_ a way to communicate: owls. Why make it complicated?

"Can those squares break?" asked Ron, still adamant on getting Hermione to think this was a horrible idea.

Hermione pursed her lips. "Well only if you drop it. Or spill something on it."

"That doesn't happen with owls," he pointed out, "What's the point? It's not like it'd work at Hogwarts," argued Ron. "I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't want to confuse everyone with confusing squares."

Hermione shook her head, "Your father would be _so_ disappointed in you. He'd _love_ this."

"I'm just trying to show you the facts!"

"Funnily enough, you're talking about _facts_ when we still use quills and parchment like we're in the medieval ages!" screeched Hermione, throwing the nearest object at Ron, which happened to be the confusing square. It shattered all over the floor. He raised an eyebrow.

Hermione pointed her wand at the square, " _Reparo."_

Ron smirked as he leaned on the couch, "I bet Muggles can't do that."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but Ron continued speaking,

"Well? Maybe Muggles have their own fancy ways of communicating, but even _they_ have their pitfalls."

"You're _impossible,_ Ronald!" Hermione stormed out of the room with her confusing square, leaving Ron to smirk and wonder what the hell just happened.

* * *

 **A/N: Damn if we had reparo around...anyways, that was the fic! I didn't like it, but I hoped you did!**

 **Thanks to Shay (The Kawaii Neko) for covering me, and thanks to Lily (Legend of Today) for betaing the first half! You both are favs**

 **Please R &R :)**

 **-Ana**


	8. R10: Lemonade Spills

**Lemonade Spills **

**Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 10 for Puddlemere United.**

 **Captain's Task: write a fic that has the song Uptown Funk.**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Assignment # 6 - Gardening - Summer - Write about someone enjoying the hot weather in the means of a garden party, bbq, or similar event.**

 **Hogwarts Around The World in Thirty One Days - Sudan: write about summer.**

 **Hogwarts National Coming Out Day- AlbusScorpius**

 **Shay's HPFC Oktoberfest Challenge- (Ale) write a fic with fluffy undertones.**

 **Additional note: this is a Muggle!AU.**

 **Word Count without A/N's: 1,575**

* * *

"Lily, for the last time! I'm not going tomorrow!" hissed Albus, glaring at her and narrowing his green eyes.

Lily arched an eyebrow, tossing some of her red hair behind her face. "Then where _are_ you going? I'm hosting the barbeque at our place. Mum and Dad'll be on that business trip."

"I'll go to Rose's then," he decided, "But I'm not in the mood to be anywhere near a party. You of _all people_ should understand that."

His little sister leaned against the wall leading to his bedroom. "Actually, it's why I really want you to stay for the party. Maybe you'll _forget_ him."

Albus had been happily dating Devin Zabini for months until he caught him kissing another girl in the coffee shop they go to every Sunday.

" _What about that guy you're seeing?" the girl had said._

" _Don't worry about him. He was a waste of my time anyways. He'll get over it," Devin had replied, pulling the girl in for a kiss._

"Look, there are some _hot_ guys I've invited," said Lily, winking.

"Yes," said Albus dryly, "Ten dollars says they're all _straight."_

"There's this one guy, from my state college, Scorpius Malfoy. I liked him for a while til I found out he was gay. He's pretty hot," commented Lily.

"Lily, I appreciate you trying to help me move on, but I don't think I'm ready - _oh my god you're right."_

Lily had whipped out her phone, showing Albus a picture of this Scorpius Malfoy. "So, like I was saying, you should totally stay for the party. James will also be gone for that spring thing with his friends, so I mean, it's just us…"

"I'll consider," said Albus finally. "But it's not a yes yet."

* * *

Albus did eventually say yes to Lily, and was regretting it highly. Scorpius Malfoy - the guy Lily promised would be there - was nowhere in sight, he didn't know anyone, and he honestly just wanted to take a nap.

Lily's best friend, Emma Jordan, had come over earlier today and Albus had come home from his shift at work to find the kitchen full of baked goods, ready for the barbecue. Now everyone was milling around the large Potter backyard and making small talk. And nobody made an effort to talk to ' _Lily's nerdy brother.'_

He was just reading _Pride and Prejudice_ in a corner near the house and away from everyone. He honestly was either going to go into the house to take a nap or go to Rose's house: this party was a waste of his time.

Lily had caught him just as he was about to enter the house. "Sorry Lils," said Albus flatly, "I just don't want to be here."

"Please stay longer," begged Lily, "Scorpius is in traffic right now, but he'll come soon. I _really_ wanna set you two up!"

Albus rubbed his eyes in annoyance. "I'll stay for an hour. After that, I'm gone."

* * *

 _Thread title:_ _ **Rose**_

 _ **Rose: hey cuz! How's it going?**_

 _Albus: Awfully, nobody really notices I'm there, loud rap music is being played, and I just don't like parties in general. I've just been reading the entire time_

 _ **Rose: you can come over, like we've talked about**_

 _Albus: yeah, but Lily's insistent on setting me up with her college friend or something_

 _ **Rose: ...she knows you're gay, right?**_

 _Albus: she does, apparently it's a guy_

 _ **Rose: ooh! Now I'm interested!**_

 _ **Rose: ;)**_

He was just about to send another message to Rose that _no,_ he was _not_ interested until he felt his shirt getting wet. To add the icing on top of the cake, his... _area_ got wet as well, making it look as if he'd peed his pants. Done with it, Albus looked up from his phone in fury to see a blond guy with a now half-empty lemonade cup apologizing to him profusely.

" _I - I am so sorry…"_

"You're fine," muttered Albus, holding back the curse words that were aching to come out. "I was just about to leave anyways…" Then he got a good look at the guy. It was the same guy from Lily's picture.

 _Scorpius Malfoy._

"Lils was right," he smirked, "You _do_ look cute."

Albus raised an eyebrow and rolled his eyes, "I see Lily's been talking to you as well." He couldn't help agreeing on the other side of the spectrum. Lily was right about Scorpius. He _was_ cute. Albus rarely saw or met guys that were cute and not straight.

Scorpius nodded. "She also tells me you're going into your last year at Oxford?" He raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Surprised everyone isn't fawning over that right now."

Albus smiled thinly."Well, I'm known around the place as _Lily's nerdy brother._ I mean, James and Lily are the popular ones, I'm more of the...invisible academic nerd."

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two, until Scorpius awkwardly asked, "Enjoying the party?"

Albus sighed, "Not really. I don't really do parties, to be honest."

Over the pair's shoulder, everyone seemed to be going nuts over the song that was currently being played. Albus didn't see the fuss over it.

" _'Cause uptown funk gon' give it to you_

 _'Cause uptown funk gon' give it to you_

 _'Cause uptown funk gon' give it to you…"_

"Not a fan?" asked Scorpius, and Albus shook his head.

"Have you ever...danced at a party before?" he asked again, raising an eyebrow. This just earned him another shake of the head from Albus.

"I don't dance," he said bluntly.

Scorpius sent him a grin, "Well, that should change." He held out an arm for Albus to take.

"Do you _really_ want to make a fool out of yourself by dancing with me? Or being around me?"

Scorpius scoffed, "You went to _bloody Oxford,_ why do people back home treat you like this?"

The song continued to play:

" _Stop, wait a minute_

 _Fill my cup, put some liquor in it_

 _Take a sip, sign a check_

 _Julio, get the stretch!"_

"I've gotten used to it," was the reply from Albus.

"Well I don't care if I make a fool out of myself, or if we've known each other for only ten minutes," insisted Scorpius, "Dance with me."

Albus hesitated. He looked over Scorpius' shoulder to see Lily with a group of friends. She winked over at Albus. "Why not?" he finally said. He let himself be taken into the crowd, where everyone was dancing and singing to this song. What was it called, anyways…?

"It's called 'Uptown Funk,'" said Scorpius, as if reading his mind.

" _'Cause uptown funk gon' give it to you_

 _Saturday night and we in the spot_

 _Don't believe me just watch (come on)_

 _Don't believe me just watch uh…"_

Albus didn't know exactly what dancing entailed, besides what he'd seen in movies and read in books. So he waved his arms awkwardly in the air, causing Scorpius to laugh at him.

" _Stop laughing!"_ hissed Albus, his face reddening. "That's practically what everyone's doing for a fast song, waving their arms in the air and jumping! Lily's DJ hasn't played any slow songs at all!"

"No, no," assured Scorpius, "It's just...kinda cute watching you do that."

Albus raised an eyebrow, mimicking Scorpius' steps to the beat. "You think me being an absolute idiot is cute? Since when's that cute?" Inside, however, his heart skipped a beat.

"You've never experienced looking like an idiot, have you?" asked Scorpius.

"Why would _anyone_ want to look like an idiot?" asked Albus. He couldn't comprehend why everyone around them was looking exactly like one.

"It's called having fun," smirked Scorpius, "You should try it sometime."

Albus' jaw was agape. "Are you insinuating that I don't know how to have fun?" he demanded. In a painful way he knew that Scorpius was right; all his life usually consisted on a daily basis was studying and reading.

"Am I not allowed to insinuate that?" smirked Scorpius.

"I suppose I never really do," he admitted, looking down at the ground. "I mean, all my ex and I did was study together."

"I apologize if it's not my place to ask, but what happened between you two?" asked Scorpius curiously.

Albus' face grew stony. "He...um, cheated on me, just two days ago," he admitted. "With some girl. I should've known, he was my first relationship...I knew he wasn't going to last."

"Well, he's an idiot for cheating on you," said Scorpius plainly. "I mean, I've known you for like ten minutes, you seem pretty cool. I mean, if I had an opportunity to date you, I'd never cheat."

Albus froze, his green eyes widening.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that," said Scorpius quickly, "I just meant...rhetorically. Must be the song that gave me this confidence."

"Of course," said Albus quickly. "I get what you mean. You just slipped."

The song was finishing up:

" _Uptown funk you up (say what?)_

 _Uptown funk you up…"_

"Would you _like_ the opportunity?" asked Albus, cursing himself for _slipping_ as well.

The song ended, and Scorpius wrote down his number on a small piece of paper and handed it over to Albus.

"I don't want this party to be the last time you and I see each other. Call me?" asked Scorpius, his voice uncertain.

Albus nodded, shaking off the feeling of happiness coursing through his veins. _How can one develop a crush over a stranger so quickly?_

* * *

 **A/N: round ten done! I liked it a fair bit better than my round 9 but that doesn't really say much lol. Anyways, I hope you liked it (idk).**

 **Thanks so much to Amber (Cheeky Slytherin Lass) for betaing! :3**

 **Please R &R:)**

 **-Ana**


	9. R11: Branded Mark of Death

**Branded Mark of Death**

 **Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 11 for Puddlemere United.**

 **Captain's Task: write a horror-themed fic set on a winter night.**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Assignment # 7 - Transfiguration - write in the POV of a person in some form of captivity - Prompt used: "I told you I was sick."**

 **Hogwarts Around the World In Thirty One Days - Iceland: write about the spell Imperio.**

 **Shay's Oktoberfest Challenge - Costumes - write about anybody.**

 **Additional Note: this is a VoldemortWins!AU**

 **Word Count without A/N's: 1,214**

* * *

Laughter, music, and happiness could be heard on Christmas Eve in the Muggle town a mile away from Malfoy Manor. Children were playing tag outside their homes. The lights were hung up all around the houses, and all the Christmas carolers were singing away.

Little Serina Williams gazed longingly at the children, wishing she could be one of them. "Hey! Wanna play with us?" one of them called out to her. The girl who asked that shot her a bright smile. Serina's eyes widened as she nervously played with a lock of her black hair.

"She can't. We have lots to do tonight to prepare for Christmas tomorrow, don't we darling?" Her mother gave her a pointed look. Serina knew she was referring to their branded marks. They'd been sent to Diagon Alley to pick up a special wand; something that someone had stolen from the Dark Lord, as he had other pressing matters to deal with. Her mum took this as a huge honor, as they hadn't left the prison for six years.

The punishment for failing to retrieve the right thing would be an even worse agony. She had seen stronger witches and wizards break under the Dark Lord's displeasure. If they didn't bring specifically what was ordered from them, they would be hurt in more ways than one. They'd seen it happen before.

Serina took a breath, "I know, Mummy," she sighed in defeat. Tears filled her eyes at the thought of going back to her prison.

She was branded.

She'd never be able to escape. In her prison, Serina saw women and men that looked well over childhood age. She'd wondered how they'd been able to live to that point.

 _Had they been trapped in this prison forever?_

Serina had been here for as long as she'd remembered. When she'd asked her mummy how long she'd been there, the reply was _long enough._ The reply was that _she'd never wanted this life for them._

* * *

 _Later that evening, when they were back in their cell, loud screaming echoed all throughout her head._

" _Jonathan Williams. Caught in the act!"_

" _What?" another man's voice spat. "What're you gonna do, arrest me? Just because the Death Eater scum now rule doesn't mean I'm respecting it."_

" _I'm not going to arrest you, but…" A girl's high pitched voice rang throughout the room._

" _AMELIE!" the man yelled, and struggling could be heard. "And no, not Mandy and Serina…"_

" _They'll be kept_ real _safe," a voice chortled. "I told you I was sick."_

 _Multiple screams rang inside her head, making it almost split in pain._

" _Rina!"_ her mother screamed, holding her daughter close as she wouldn't stop screaming. A Dementor was mercilessly circling their prison cell, forcing them to relive unforgettable memories - memories that Serina was too young to remember.

That's what they do. They torture people, before they move on to their next victims. Azkaban used to be a prison for the most vile followers of Voldemort, and now it was a prison for people who were exactly the opposite. There was also another prison at Malfoy Manor; if it could even be called that anymore. Lucius and Narcissa died of old age, and Draco Malfoy had run away from the Manor and the regime. Now it was infested with Death Eaters.

"Amanda," an old lady's voice rang out. It was Adeline, a prisoner in the cell right next to them. One of the few calming presences in their lives.

" _Addie!"_ her mum exclaimed, rushing over to where the cell separated them. The old lady lay on the floor, looking like she was going to take her final breath. Behind her, Serina shivered from the lingering presence of the Dementors.

Addie didn't listen to her. She just repeatedly repeated the words over and over again;

" _Escape. Escape. Escape. Escape."_

"Addie dear, you can't escape the prison. If you do, your brand will hurt you more than you can ever imagine," her mum shivered at the thought.

" _Try to. Try to. Try to,"_ her voice was like an ominous chant.

"Addie?" asked Serina, her voice small and frightened.

" _You can't live like this! Your daughter can't live like this!"_ rasped Addie, reaching her hand out so it touched the end of her cell, " _This is your fate! I was very sick, and they made me even sicker. Don't become like me!"_ Then the old woman lay still, moving no more.

Serina's mother sobbed. "Oh...Addie... _Addie…"_

Then she went eerily quiet, and Serina stared at her curiously. It'd been thirty minutes, and Serina decided to shakily put a hand on her mum's shoulder.

" _WE HAVE TO GET OUT! SERINA! JON IS WAITING FOR US! HE LOVES US! HE CAN'T FIND US! WE HAVE TO GET OUT!"_ she screamed suddenly. She grabbed the little girl by the arm and banged helplessly at the edge of the cell.

"Mummy! We can't leave!" Serina had sniffled.

"I'll find a way," she snarled, "I _always_ do. It's like Jon always said; ' _Mandy, you always find a way.'"_ Serina watched in horror as she placed her fingernails into the branded mark and scratched away; as if that would work. It didn't remove the mark, and all it did was cause small droplets of blood trickle down her arm.

Their cell door flew open. Her mother cackled. " _Escape! Escape! Escape from the branded mark!"_

"Come with me," the man ordered; it was a Death Eater that Serina had seen before.

"Of course I will! Come on, Rina! Escape!" exclaimed her mother, still joyfully thinking she was going to escape. Serina knew better. One of them had done something to piss off the Death Eaters, and now they were going to pay sorely.

Her mother ran for the door, only to slam straight into it and topple down on the floor. "Pathetic woman," one of them laughed, "Wouldn't be the first time!"

" _Imperio!"_ the man that took them from their cell hissed at her mum. Mandy stood up, her eyes glazed. Serina took a step back, until a separate curse was put on her; a body bind.

The man edged closer towards Serina. "Do you wanna know what your _father_ did recently, girly?" His yellow breath reeked.

" _I...I don't know him…"_ she sobbed.

He let out a bark of laughter. "Of course you don't! How could I've forgotten...you'd only been with him, in the outer world, for six months. And you had an older sister, her name was Amy something... _we killed her_ because your father was trying to lead a rebellion against us. And _now,_ he's starting up again. So now, we're going to rid him of _both_ his daughters."

He turned to Serina's mother, and ordered;

" _Kill her."_

Serina screamed in horror. She couldn't escape, not under her body bind. Her mother inched slowly towards her, a glint of murder in her eyes.

" _Mummy...please…"_

She couldn't stop her mother. Serina's blood ran cold as her mother's fingers wrapped around her throat. She choked, and she felt her lungs burning. Finally, her vision began to go dark at the edges. She let out one final breath, hoping that maybe she'd get to see her long-lost sister in the afterlife.

 _There was no escape from the branded mark of death._

* * *

 **A/N: And done! Okay, I liked this better than my Round 9. I like everything better than my round 9, I'm not saying this crap is good:p**

 **Lina update: um, I posted the last chap six days ago so I haven't started the next chap lmao. I plan for a couple of November updates, tho:)**

 **Thanks to Amber (CheekySlytherinLass) and Fruits (SecretFruits) for betaing! You guys are gems!**

 **Please R &R:)**

 **-Ana**


	10. R12: Oblivious

**Oblivious**

 **Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 12 for Puddlemere United.**

 **Captain's Task: write a romantic relationship with your chosen characters (Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter)**

 **Word Count without A/N's: 1,204**

* * *

 _eleven._

When Harry Potter was eleven, he hated Draco Malfoy with every fiber of his being. The young Slytherin always seemed to go out of his way to hurt his friends. Harry had never had friends prior to Hogwarts, so when he'd managed to make friends with Ron and Hermione, he intended to keep them and protect them as best as he could.

But Harry had no idea what the other boy was thinking. Stupid Malfoy...why couldn't he just leave them alone? After all, one could never truly tell what another was thinking... could they?

 _(Harry wouldn't know this for a long time, but Draco couldn't help but wonder why Harry rejected the handshake. Being friends with THE Harry Potter had been a dream of his ever since he was little, but it had been crushed, all because of that weasel.)_

Draco was bitter.

Harry was oblivious.

* * *

 _twelve. _

When Harry Potter was twelve, he witnessed Draco Malfoy call his best friend a mudblood.

He was so angry that his pulse raced and fists clenched without him even thinking about it. For that alone, he was nearly certain that Draco Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin.

But little did Harry know, Draco didn't want to.

It was all an act but it had to be done, because otherwise Draco's reputation would crumble; the one that he had built up when Harry declined the handshake. _After all Draco had to get it from somewhere, right?_

Harry didn't know that. He, of course, remained oblivious.

He would never know that Draco had been the one to place that piece of parchment in Hermione Granger's hand when she was Petrified at the Hospital Wing, at least not for a long while.

For now, he would continue to remain oblivious.

* * *

 _t_ _hirteen._

When Harry Potter was thirteen, the Dementors took a strange liking to him. Draco took a chance. He asked him, " _Potter, have you fainted? Have you actually fainted?"_ He hadn't meant to hurt him, it had just came out that way, and he had gone along with it.

Harry, of course, did not appreciate it.

Draco Malfoy had been the cause of Buckbeak's death, and Buckbeak belonged to Harry's good friend, Hagrid.

 _(It might've been mentioned before, but Harry hated seeing his friends get hurt.)_

Naturally, Harry continued to hate Draco even more. Who wouldn't, after that?

Harry would continue to remain oblivious.

* * *

 _fourteen._

When Harry Potter was fourteen, he was unwillingly chosen as a champion for the Triwizard Tournament, and the whole school turned on him.

Draco was one of the worst, with his "Potter Stinks" badges and the like, not to mention the constant hounding and bullying of Harry's friends.

 _(It might've been mentioned before, but Harry hated seeing his friends get hurt.)_

Harry didn't understand why anyone would do such a thing, which was completely understandable. Little did Harry know that Draco was actually worried about Harry putting himself in danger.

To Harry, it didn't seem that way. It wouldn't seem that way to him for a long, long time.

* * *

 _fifteen._

When Harry Potter was fifteen, it seemed like the entire Wizarding World had turned against him for saying that Voldemort had returned. The articles concerning him and Dumbledore were extremely nasty, and there were more people that believed him to be a nutter than people who didn't believe him to be sane.

People wouldn't leave him alone.

Draco Malfoy was no exception to the people. Harry felt no sympathy when his father was arrested later on in the year, especially after the Inquisitorial Squad fiasco.

Perhaps it was all because Draco was still bitter.

* * *

 _sixteen._

When Harry Potter was sixteen, he was firmly adamant that Draco Malfoy was a no-good Death Eater, when in reality Draco didn't even _want_ to be a Death Eater.

The Slytherin was forced to, it was the only way to keep his family alive.

But at the current moment, Harry wasn't willing to look at that situation with a neutral eye. After all, he didn't know the inside reasons behind it.

Harry's first glimpse into a new light was when he was on his futile quest to prove that his archrival was up to no good. When he'd seen Draco so vulnerable in Myrtle's Bathroom, he stopped and thought for a moment;

 _Did I go too far?_

His thoughts were thrown to the side when Draco had turned around and fired a curse at him, causing Harry to eventually retaliate with _Sectumsempra,_ but after the event, the thought ' _did I go too far?'_ stuck in his brain for the rest of the year, especially when he watched the Slytherin with his wand pointed at Dumbledore and his arms shaking.

Perhaps Harry wasn't so oblivious this year.

* * *

 _seventeen._

The Second Wizarding War was the first and foremost thing on Harry Potter's mind at age seventeen, so his thoughts on Draco took a backseat for a little while.

His old thoughts came back into play when he lay 'dead' on the floor in the Forbidden Forest; and Narcissa had asked whether her son was at Hogwarts Castle. He'd told her yes, realizing how much she cared, how much that family in particular cared for each other. The previous thoughts he'd had about seeing Draco Malfoy in a new light came back to him all at once.

After he'd defeated Voldemort, he'd sat back and taken a look at the three Malfoys and how they looked so out of place.

A surge of pity went out from Harry to them as he worried about how everyone would treat them post-war.

* * *

 _eighteen._

When Harry Potter was eighteen, Hermione had coerced him and Ron to repeat their seventh year of Hogwarts with her, despite them both getting Auror invitations.

He oftentimes wondered why he agreed to come back to Hogwarts, especially with the fact that he'd practically forgotten half of what they'd learned in sixth year. Hermione assured him and Ron that she would help them catch up, but he and Ron both agreed that they should've listened to themselves instead and accepted the invitations.

Harry hardly paid attention to Draco Malfoy, who had also come back. He hadn't seen the Slytherin since he'd defended him at his trial.

So when he was walking back from the library with Ron and Hermione and heard a very familiar sound from the bathroom of Moaning Myrtle, he'd told the other two to go along to the common room without him.

Harry entered the bathroom and saw a very familiar sight,the exact same sight he'd seen in his sixth year, and he told himself he wasn't going to make the same mistakes now that he had back then.

This time, he asked Draco Malfoy if he was okay. The Slytherin asked him why he even cared.

Harry realized this was the first time he had acted like he _cared_. He responded by saying that he _did_ care, and that he'd like to help.

Draco told him to piss off. Harry ignored him and helped anyways.

Over their eighth year at Hogwarts, the two continued "accidentally" meeting in Myrtle's bathroom, and when their lips touched after a heated argument, they knew there was no turning back.

* * *

 **A/N: Round 12 wrapped up! Close call. REALLY close call. Like, round-closes-in-less-than-seven-hours close call. It's not the best, but it's whatever.**

 **Thanks so much to Dessie (desertredwolf), Jasmin (TheRottenJas) and Em (CrimsonGoldQueen) for betaing! You guys are gems!:3**

 **Please R &R :)**

 **-Ana**


	11. R13: A Clear Head (for amber)

**A Clear Head**

 **Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 13 for Puddlemere United.**

 **Captain's Task: write about a character that can be considered dominant (tried to make Cho dominant by protecting Luna, I hope it worked…) (use the word Queen somewhere in the fic).**

 **Also written for the November Monthly One-Shot Exchange for Cheeky Slytherin Lass. Thank you, Amber, for being such a great friend!:3 Ily!**

 **(ChoLuna, Friendship, scarf).**

 **Word Count without A/N's: 1,033**

* * *

" _She's ridiculous."_

" _She's loony."_

" _Well, that's why we call her Loony, isn't it?"_

" _The way she goes on and on about Wrinkspurts and the like. Honestly? How on earth does she expect to make friends?"_

" _Oh, that's easy. She doesn't."_

* * *

Luna Lovegood knew _exactly_ what people said about her during her earlier years at Hogwarts, and she didn't care in the slightest. She took it in her stride. Their judgement was clouded by the very same creatures they'd ridiculed her about.

Plus, she rather much preferred the animals around the grounds rather than the people; especially the Thestrals. They never judged. With the animals and her fair-weather friend - Ginny Weasley - around, it didn't matter much to the ethereal blonde the rumors people spread about her or the possessions they'd mess with. Though she really wasn't sure if that even was them… she hated making assumptions about people.

Luna didn't mind in the slightest.

* * *

Cho Chang, however, though it was rather odd. How this girl - who didn't seem to cause any harm besides believing in certain things - could be bullied this badly, and even worse, how the other girl merely took the attacks everyone gave her.

The way her friends talked about Luna Lovegood was merely horrifying and unacceptable in her mind. She didn't notice how they treated the other girl for pretty much her entire third year, but she did notice it in her fourth year. When she entered the Ravenclaw Common Room with her friends after a stressful day of classes, she noticed a large poster that read:

 _LOST SHOES & CLOTHES_

All her friends started snickering around her, and Cho frowned, as if she'd been left out of some huge joke.

"Guys?" she asked hesitantly, "What's so funny?"

"Oh, you don't know love?" asked Marietta Edgecombe, through bouts of laughter. "Loony thinks she lost her shoes and clothes after we hid them by levitating them onto the ceiling!"

Cho's eyes narrowed in anger. "But _why_ would you hide somebody's shoes and clothes? Mari, that's _cruel."_

"It's so funny," added Ellie, her other friend. "She thinks the _Wrackspurts_ hid them."

"No, it's not funny," she snapped, remembering the way her eight-year-old younger sister was and still is bullied in primary school. The way they called her ' _fat girl'_ and avoided her at lunch. They way she ran home crying because of things people said to her at school. "And you shouldn't do things like that to her," she added in disgust.

Marietta pursed her lips. "You don't even think it's a _little_ funny?"

"No," said Cho firmly, "I really don't."

* * *

Cho decided she'd approach the other girl when she saw her on the grounds, at least just to talk. It'd been coming for a while but the sight of the poster and her friends laughing had been the breaking point for her.

 _How? Cho believed that it's time the other girl stopped...taking everyone's crap._

Luna was outside on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, and she appeared to be feeding meat to the thin air. And the meat kept disappearing. Cho frowned a little bit at that, but she didn't let it deter her.

She cleared her throat. "Hey," she called.

"Oh, hello," the other girl said, not even looking up at her. "The weather's quite lovely, isn't it?"

"It is," agreed Cho, a bit uncomfortably. "I just wanted to say hello."

"Oh, that's quite nice of you," said Luna, "Not many people seem to do that, I'm afraid."

Cho nodded, before asking her, "So...if you don't mind me asking, what're you doing right now?"

"Feeding," she replied. "The thestrals get hungry easily, you know."

"Thestrals?" asked Cho curiously, raising an eyebrow. "What're thestrals?"

"One can only see a thestral if they've seen someone die," explains Luna.

Cho nods in interest; she would've doubted the theory if it hadn't been for the random disappearance of the meat slices. "I saw your posters in the common room for lost shoes," she said, after a moment of silence.

"Oh, have you found a pair?" asked Luna innocently, looking up at Cho.

"I'm afraid not," said Cho uncomfortably, "But I do think I know someone who _does_ know where your stuff is."

"Really?" asked Luna, "That's great! Who?"

 _Friends. People I talk to…people I'm ashamed of…_

Cho cleared her throat, "you know what, it doesn't matter who knows. It just matters...that I know. Some people levitated them onto the ceiling."

Luna put a hand to her heart, as if in shock. "Oh, I don't think anyone would do such a thing! Are you sure?"

Cho nodded, "I'm afraid so…the thing is, why would you _let_ them?"

Luna shrugged, tugging at her scarf. "I mean, it's not their fault. They can't help what's in their heads. Besides, things always have a way of coming back to you."

"But still...they really should be able to help it, in my opinion," said Cho, still thinking that the other girl wasn't thinking straight in that aspect.

"Oh, that's alright. And thank you for being so nice," added Luna, "It's nice to know someone has a clear head."

"It's no problem," said Cho with a smile. "I'll be getting your stuff down for you, and please let me know if you ever need anything."

Luna smiled. "That's sweet of you, Cho."

* * *

It took Cho a total of three hours, but she'd found Luna's stuff hanging over the ceiling of the North Wing where she took Divination.

 _Seriously? That's a new level of cruel._

She found Luna in the same place she saw her last time, on the ground near the Forbidden Forest. When Luna saw her, she smiled brightly.

"Thank you so much! Where were they?"

"The North Tower," replied Cho crisply. "By the Divination classrooms."

"Oh," nodded Luna, "I didn't expect the Nargles to go that far." She paused before asking, "would you like to maybe hangout some time?"

For a moment, Cho forgot just what that would do to her reputation as the "queen bee" of her friend group. She could only think about the bright look on Luna's face and how she wished that for her little sister.

"I'd love to."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading, and this wraps up this collection & the season of QL! I loved loved loved working with everyone and meeting new people!**

 **Thank you to Sam (MissingMommy) for betaing my fic! You're amazing, love:3**

 **Um, why...I'm probably going to be back for season 6. Why? Because I'm insane. Go figure. However, depending on when the season starts (if it starts smack dab in the middle of AP exams...) I might not.**

 **Please R &R :)**

 **-Ana**


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